NAO 217-109: NOAA Commercial Space Policy

Issued 01/08/2016; Effective 01/08/2016 Reviewed last: 01/08/2016

Attachments:

SECTION 1. BACKGROUND, PURPOSE, AND SCOPE.

Background

.01 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a science-based services agency charged with understanding and predicting changes in earth systems in order to provide critical environmental intelligence to the American public, decision makers, and our partners. NOAA’s environmental intelligence depends on observations obtained via a variety of systems, including satellites, ships, ground, and in situ networks. This policy focuses on space-based observations.

.02 In order to respond to an ever-growing demand for environmental information, NOAA continually strives for an observing enterprise that is flexible, responsive to evolving technologies, and economically sustainable, while supporting and upholding the international data sharing commitments upon which NOAA depends for global data and data products.

.03 NOAA’s environmental intelligence depends critically on reliable, timely access to global environmental measurements from satellites and other sources. The abundance of measurements needed to produce useful forecast products highlights that no single nation, nor any other entity, can produce them all independently. As a result, an international data exchange regime exists, in which all nations share essential Earth observations as global public goods, on a full and open basis. This arrangement, which is the linchpin of weather, water, and climate forecasting around the world, provides the United States with much of the environmental data that we use.

.04 Rapid change in the commercial space services arena over the past several years is now yielding new technical and business approaches not only to building, launching, and operating satellites but also to selling private satellite capabilities as services. NOAA is interested in exploring these new business models to understand how they might complement the current public and international data supply arrangements. The changing landscape is ripe with new opportunities and NOAA looks forward to learning more alongside the commercial sector in a policy process that will iterate along with the dynamic landscape. This document lays out the guidelines and policies by which NOAA will engage with these new prospects, most significantly that we must manage change in ways that ensure there is no degradation of weather and warning services to the Nation.

.05 Through this policy, and in accordance with applicable laws and policies (see Appendix B), NOAA will continually seek optimal solutions to address its needs to measure key environmental phenomena. With all of these considerations in mind, this policy establishes the broad principles for the use of commercial space-based approaches for NOAA’s observational requirements.

Purpose and Scope

.01 NOAA seeks to leverage commercial space capabilities to capitalize on available extramural expertise, to improve weather forecasting, diversify NOAA’s portfolio of data collection capabilities, to promote U.S. space commerce and the industrial base, and to pursue enhancements in mission areas, program schedules, and costs.

.02 This policy applies to NOAA’s interaction with the commercial sector in the following areas:

Data Buys - An arrangement for the purchase of data or data products from a space-based remote sensing system or space-based remote sensing service provider;

Hosted Payloads - The use of available capacity on a satellite to accommodate an additional payload;

Rideshares -A shared orbital space launch of a hosted payload, a secondary payload or a co-manifested mission on a single launch vehicle; and

Launch Services - Services that deliver assets to the desired orbit in space.

.03 This policy does not apply to the design, building, or operation of government-owned spacecraft, NOAA’s licensing of space-based private remote sensing systems, or to data transfer services, such as from ground stations to communications satellites solely for dissemination purposes.

National Space Policy

.01 On June 28, 2010, President Obama issued a National Space Policy (NSP; see Appendix A.2) directive providing comprehensive guidance for all government activities in space, including the commercial, civil, and national security space sectors. The NSP calls on the U.S. Government to use commercial space products and services in fulfilling governmental needs and to use a broad array of partnerships with industry to promote innovation. The NSP defines the term commercial as:

“…space goods, services, or activities provided by private sector enterprises that bear a reasonable portion of the investment risk and responsibility for the activity, operate in accordance with typical market-based incentives for controlling cost and optimizing return on investment, and have the legal capacity to offer these goods or services to existing or potential nongovernmental customers.”

.02 The NSP is the foundational document for NOAA’s Commercial Space Policy. The NSP guidelines outline items similar to the following:

Actively explore the use of inventive, non-traditional arrangements for acquiring commercial space goods and services, such as public-private partnerships, commercially hosted U.S. Government capabilities, and commercial data and data product purchases;

Pursue opportunities to transfer routine, operational space functions to the commercial space sector where beneficial and cost-effective, except where the government has legal, security, or safety needs that would preclude commercialization;

Encourage the purchase and use of U.S. commercial space services and capabilities in international cooperative arrangements;

Develop governmental space systems only when it is in the national interest and there is no suitable, cost-effective commercial service or system that is or will be available;

Refrain from conducting U.S. Government space activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities, unless required by national security or public safety

.03 Additionally, the NSP directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the NOAA Administrator, and in coordination with the NASA Administrator and other appropriate departments and agencies, in support of operational requirements, to:

Use international partnerships to help sustain and enhance weather, climate, ocean, and coastal observations from space; and

Be responsible for the requirements, funding, acquisition, and operation of civil operational environmental satellites in support of weather forecasting, climate monitoring, ocean and coastal observations, and space weather forecasting. NOAA will primarily utilize NASA as the acquisition agent for operational environmental satellites for these activities and programs.

.04 The 2013 National Space Transportation Policy (see Appendix A.3) provides further direction that “[d]epartments and agencies shall explore the use of hosted payload arrangements, secondary payload launches, and other ride-sharing opportunities when planning space-based missions.”

.05 Consistent with the goals and objectives of the NSP, NOAA is actively investigating and analyzing new modes of partnerships, including commercial business models and alternative enterprise architectures (see Appendix A.4, A.5).

SECTION 2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

.01 NOAA will continue to be guided by the following principles when implementing this policy:

Sustain service quality

Protect the standard of NOAA services by requiring data of value to forecasts and services, cost effectiveness for the value of the data, and the ability for NOAA to exploit the data effectively;

Optimize mission requirements

Meet mission requirements on time, within quality standards, and as cost effectively as possible through an effective and efficient mix of government assets, commercial services, and domestic and international partnerships;

Ensure access to global observations

Maintain NOAA’s capability to collect or obtain the global observations needed to generate accurate forecasts, warnings, and other services to help protect life and property and support the U.S. economy;

Uphold national/international standards

Abide by U.S. data sharing laws, policies, and international conventions for the full, open, and timely sharing of meteorological and hydro-meteorological data;

Ensure a vibrant research enterprise

Sustain access by the research community (i.e. academic and not-for-profit institutions) to full, open, and timely data necessary for advancing environmental understanding and prediction;

Explore new partnerships

Seek and, where appropriate, enter into partnerships to reduce cost, foster international collaboration, and expand environmental data availability, in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the NOAA Policy on Partnerships in the Provision of Environmental Information (see Appendix A.11).

Apply the same validation, data integrity, and security criteria to commercial data and data products as to those obtained by other means, before entering into any binding agreement for the purchase and utilization of observations to support the NOAA mission;

Designate the Office of Space Commerce as the NOAA entry point for commercial sector engagement (See Responsibilities section below);

Continue to work with industry to evaluate and implement business models and legal mechanisms that allow NOAA priorities and requirements to be met with commercial capabilities.

Implementation Considerations

.02 For commercial space solutions involving the acquisition of data or data products, NOAA will follow NOAA Administrative Order 212-15 (Management of Environmental Data and Information, see Appendix A.10), as well as the policies and Procedural Directives established by the NOAA Environmental Data Management Committee (EDMC). This includes, but is not limited to, the development, review, and approval of a Data Management Plan in accordance with the NOAA Data Management Planning Procedural Directive (governed by EDMC). NOAA will seek to maximize the public benefit of environmental data and data products acquired through commercial space solutions by negotiating the least restrictive terms of use possible;

NOAA will consider the impact of acquiring commercial data or data products on other Federal agencies, international partners, the private weather enterprise, academic and research communities and other stakeholders;

NOAA will consider the long term maintenance, access, and archival rights associated with commercial data;

NOAA will consider the cost associated with various terms of use of commercial data.

.03 Recognizing that some commercial space-based data providers may desire data distribution restrictions in order to advance their legitimate business interests, NOAA will evaluate the use of space-based data and data products obtained from commercial providers as well as data sharing agreements on a case-by-case basis.

.04 Line Office activities will be developed consistent with NOAA policy.

SECTION 4. RESPONSIBILITIES.

.01 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere is responsible for:

Assessing, in coordination with NOAA Office of the General Counsel, compliance and consistency with NOAA’s policy of full and open availability of government environmental data, the 2010 National Space Policy, and other national data policies, laws and regulations; and

Communicating the NOAA Commercial Space Policy to international partners and to key international organizations, including World Meteorological Organization and Group on Earth Observations in the context of exercising U.S. leadership in these bodies

.11 NOAA Chief Information Officer is responsible for:

Ensuring commercial products and services do not violate NOAA data and security policies; and

Office of Primary Interest:
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction (AS/EOP)
Deputy Under Secretary for Operations
NOAA Office of Space Commercialization
National Environmental Satellite & Data Information Service
National Weather Service
National Ocean Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
NOAA Observing Systems Council
NOAA Office of the General Counsel
NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office
NOAA International Affairs Office
NOAA Chief Information Officer
NOAA Chief Financial Officer